ZIP 48617 vs ZIP 48878

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48617 (Clare, MI) and ZIP 48878 (Rosebush, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48617 has a population of 8,857 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 48878 has 1,677 at 20 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 48617 reports a median household income of $58,321 against $57,656 in ZIP 48878, with per-capita income of $28,864 vs $37,570. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.1% in 48617 and 17.0% in 48878. Poverty rate reads 20.0% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 7.4% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $160,100 in 48617 versus $150,300 in 48878, with median rent of $842 and $598 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 91.1%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.